(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to drive chain cleaning and maintenance and more particularly to a brush-type tool for cleaning drive or sprocket chains, particularly for motorcycles and all terrain vehicles, but also for farm equipment, bicycles and the like, prior to oiling or relubrication of such chains. More particularly, this invention relates to a brush-type cleaning tool which provides for simultaneously cleaning at least three sides of a sprocket or drive chain at the same time by wire bristles mounted in the sides of a toolhead arranged for at least partial adjustable envelopment of the chain.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The drive or sprocket chains used to transfer power from a motorcycle engine to the drive wheel is generally at least partially open to the surrounding environment and as a result quickly becomes dirty. Hard grit and the like collects upon the chain itself and in the lubrication oil with which such chains are coated. Such grit and dirt, in effect, serves as a wear or grinding medium acting upon the chain during use with detrimental results to the chain.
Ideally, a motorcycle drive chain should be relubricated after (or before) every significant use if undesirable wear of such chain and its interconnections with the operating mechanism of the motorcycle is to be avoided. Prior to lubrication, the chain should be thoroughly cleaned to remove dirt, grit and grime which may have collected upon and adhered to the chain as well as become mixed with the prior lubrication. If such prior collected dirt, grit and grime is not removed from the chain, relubrication of the chain merely mixes what are, in effect, ready-made grinding materials with the new lubricant resulting in detrimental wear and possible failure of the chain at an inopportune time. Wear of the chain also decreases the precision of its meshing with the drive mechanism so that a less precise drive may be obtained.
It has generally been the custom for either the owner of a motorcycle or the maintenance personnel in motorcycle shops to use an ordinary wire brush upon a motorcycle's sprocket chain. The wire brush is vigorously applied in sequence to all sides of the chain brushing away both the dirt, grit and grime which has accumulated during use, particularly under dusty or wet road conditions, and incidentally, also removing the principal portion of the prior lubrication. After removal of the main portion of the grit and grime plus the prior deteriorated lubrication, the chain may be either immediately relubricated with fresh lubricant such as oil or grease, or may be passed through a solvent solution to dissolve additional old lubricant from the chain surface after which the chain may be relubricated. The chain may also be dipped or otherwise cleaned initially with solvent and then preferably wire brushed, but this is both messy and expensive because of the contamination of large amounts of solvent with large quantities of contaminated lubricant. In addition, the solvent may attack and dissipate lubricating grease incorporated inside the drive chain rollers by the chain manufacturer. This is especially true in the case of sprocket chains which have rubber sealing rings at the ends of the chain rollers to ensure the retention of lubricant in the rollers. In such cases, the use of solvent may not only remove the supposedly permanently encapsulated lubricant, but may also quickly deteriorate the rubber or other polymer sealing rings. Even so, there is a tendency among maintenance people to try to save time by using nothing but solvent to clean sprocket chains prior to relubrication, with resultant long term damage to the chain.
Manually brushing away accumulated dirt, grit and grim from the surface of a chain by the usual wire brush method, however, is both tedious and frequently less than completely effective. In fact, the manual brushing of the chain with an ordinary wire brush considerably adds to the expense of operation and maintenance of a motorcycle or similar vehicle.
Mechanical cleaning means have been suggested for the cleaning, for example, of bicycle sprocket chains. Two examples of such cleaning devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,120 issued Mar. 25, 1986 to Michael A. Chiarella and U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,923 issued June 10, 1986 to Robert Thalmann. In both of these devices, brush-type cleaners are mounted within a cover upon a bicycle in a position so that the operating bicycle chain passes over such brush cleaners and intermediately through a lubricating medium during operation of the bicycle. While the Chiarella and Thalman devices are useful in extending the life of a bicycle chain, such devices have the drawback of not thoroughly cleaning the chain and also of, in effect, mixing dirt and grime into the lubricant reservoir resulting in undesirable contamination of the lubricant. In addition, since these devices operate continuously when the bike is being used, they are themselves subject to serious wear to such an extent as to be largely impractical from an economic viewpoint.
More recently, there have been lubricating brushes available for attachment to lubricant containers for both spreading lubricant and incidentally, cleaning the drive chain. These devices have not been particularly effective because they have had insufficient strength and durability to strip resistant dirt, grease and grime from the chains and simultaneous relubrication merely mixes the new lubrication with the old contaminates.